Illinois head coach Janet Rayfield announced the addition of the Ohio Player of the Year Abby Elinsky to the Illini squad as an early enrollee.

Jan. 21, 2014

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois soccer head coach Janet Rayfield announced the addition of Abby Elinsky (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River HS) to the Illini squad on Tuesday. Elinsky, a striker for the national champion Cleveland United club team and the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association (OSSCA) Player of the Year, comes to Illinois as an early enrollee for the class of 2014.

"We are excited to add Abby to our team and to our Illini Soccer Family," Rayfield said. "Her competitive fire and drive to be great is obvious the second you meet her. When the game is on the line, she wants to be the difference. That is why she was the Ohio Player of the Year. With the semester to learn and experience the college game, she has a great opportunity to impact this program in the fall. She has seen a lot of time at forward and can certainly be a difference-maker going to goal, but can play many positions and roles on the field because she just battles and fights to make a difference in the game. She will be a great asset to our team and to our program."

During the summer of 2013, Elinsky led the Cleveland United Soccer Club to the U.S. youth soccer national championship. She connected on the golden goal in double overtime to beat Match Fit Chelsea Beat (NJ), 2-1, and earned Top 11 honors as one of the top 11 players in the event. Her club team also took third at nationals in 2012.

In her final high school season in 2013, Elinsky helped the Rocky River Pirates win their first-ever state championship by scoring the game-winning goal and recording an assist in the 3-1 title game victory over Granville. Elinsky, who notched a school-record 43 goals, earned the OSSCA Miss Soccer Award, the Division II Player of the Year honors and the cleveland.com Girls Soccer Player of the Year award. A first-team OSSCA all-state selection in 2013, she earned varsity letters during all four years and was the West Shore Conference MVP as a senior.